Thursday, 27 March 2014

It’s my turn to write Peter’s Blog because this week we want
to acknowledge and share with you Peter’s recent achievement in being awarded
the Companion of New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) for services to the business
and the community, which he received in an investiture ceremony at Government
House last week.

When it was suggested that Peter should write about this for
his blog, his response was “No, that is too much about me” and he is exactly
right. It should be about Peter, as we are very lucky to have such an
inspirational leader in our city.

Peter has been CEO of the Canterbury Employers' Chamber of
Commerce (CECC) since 1996, and since 2010 he has been heavily involved with
earthquake recovery issues for Canterbury business.

His unique leadership style for both our organisation, our
members and across the wider community has always been well received.He is known for this forward thinking,
positivity and his infectious enthusiasm and ‘glass half full’ attitude.

Peter has a unique
ability to interact with and engage with individuals across all walks of life,
all business sectors and sizes and the wider community, and is well respected
for his ability to see a clear vision and direction and identify the way to
reach it.

Since the day Peter started in his role as CEO, he has
created a unique environment for the team at CECC.In many respects, Peter was ahead of his time
introducing things such as flexibility in the workplace, empowerment of staff
and workplace wellness – all of which are fundamental parts of the workplace
ethos at the CECC and being led from the top by Peter.

Peter’s level
headed approach, forward thinking and optimism have inspired many and provided
clarity and certainty at a time when this city really needs it.

We are extremely proud of what Peter has achieved in the
Canterbury business community and further afield through the many external
activities he is involved in, but we are particularly proud and feel
privileged to have him as our leader.

Tuesday, 18 March 2014

A new programme aiming to stimulate project
based learning and innovation in electric transport, while also nurturing
science, technology, engineering and mathematics interest among high school
students is being launched in Canterbury and I encourage your support.The programme, named EVolocity, has been
developed by the Association for the Promotion of Electric Vehicles (APEV). Electricity network company Orion is naming rights
sponsor, while CPIT, Enviroschools and Electroflash are all partnering with
APEV in the rollout of the programme.

At the high school level, student teams
will have the option of building an electric motor controller to be fitted to
an electric go kart for performance testing, and/or building an electric
vehicle of their own design using a kitset of electric bike components.

At the tertiary and corporate levels, teams
will have the option of building an electric car or motor bike, or entering in
an innovation competition themed “Smart innovation in electric transport.”

Teams building vehicles will bring them to
Mike Pero Motorsport Park (Ruapuna) on November 30 for competitions, as part of
a day long programme featuring electric vehicles and offering public
opportunities for test drives. Teams entering in the innovation competition
will compete in a Dragon’s Den style event.

There are a number of things I like about
this programme:

The most conservative numbers I’ve seen for
growth in the electric vehicle sector project 80 million electrified vehicles
on global roads by 2040, up from around 300,000 today. So this is a high growth
sector with innovation and export opportunities in electronics, ICT,
componentry and niche vehicles – a good fit for Canterbury

Regardless of whether the high school team
participants pursue a career or innovation path in electric vehicles, the
programme is a novel way of engaging interest in science, technology,
engineering and maths and encouraging more high schoolers to pursue related tertiary
qualifications.

It’s a good fit with the current aspirations of
many Cantabrians – to see our city emerge from the rebuild as a 21st
Century global exemplar.

APEV is seeking sponsors for the programme at
various levels. Get in touch with Jake Miller – jake@apev.org.nz.

Tuesday, 11 March 2014

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a detailed guide tour of the Town Hall.

It was a strange sensation, seeing a compromised building, twisted and leaking, where previously I had spent so many enjoyable times at so many events, being entertained in style.

The Town Hall is definitely being repaired. It will cost a lot more than its insurance will cover but our council has decided that it is to be saved.

Despite the Limes Room being tilted, the concrete floor below the auditorium ruptured and therefore bowing the auditorium's wooden floor, the basement flooded and the James Hay Theatre looking very broken, I was surprised as to how well the core of the building has stood up to the earthquake ravages.

The repair bill is expected to be around $127 million and will involve amongst other things, a new concrete foundation and platform for the building to stand on, to tie it all together again. It will be a challenging engineering feat but as was explained on the tour, the heavily engineered tubular structure of the auditorium remains basically sound. It just needs something new to sit one, The James Hay theatre is in for a serious revamp to improve some of its historical design and acoustic inadequacies. The Limes Room is to be stripped out and the restaurant below it completely redesigned.

Of course all of this is happening to a sensitive heritage building, with all the disciplines that involves.

So we are getting our Town Hall back. It will take a couple of years of full on repairs and it will be interesting to see how it is incorporated into the Arts Cultural precinct, given its location.

There is to be a lot more emphasis on accessing the building from the south side and less than impressive northern entrance is in for a serious bit of cosmetic work.

I suspect the rebuild will become a symbol of spending more than we should to protect something important to us.

I also predict that the repaired building will accommodate significant design improvements to improve over functionality.